Culture of the Future and Culture Bridge

Where

Sweden

When

2012

Key objectives of the measure:

development in the area of culture, as a complement and alternative to grants provided by Government cultural agencies. An underlying objective was to promote development and growth in the region through support to quality-oriented cultural projects. The economic basis of the foundation was the winding up of the Swedish wage earner investment funds. The foundation capital was some SEK 529 million. The objective was to create a financially robust and, at the same time, time-limited actor with an independent position in the cultural policy field.

During the period 1995–2009, the Foundation for the Culture of the Future awarded SEK 900 million to Swedish cultural life. During the years, some 2400 projects received funding from the foundation. In a concluding publication on the foundation’s activities, it was stated that the foundation has had decisive economic influence on some of the more discussed cultural projects in Sweden. The foundation’s funding has often served as a stamp of quality for projects that thereby have been able to raise further risk capital and in the best case kick-start regional cultural development.

Main feature of the measure:

After the funding profile during the initial years became close to already established culture, the foundation sharpened its funding guidelines and trusted their own initiative even more. Through the rapidly growing network, interesting projects were tracked down and provided with different types of support. New organic patterns were constructed in the field of culture. It is stated in the publication that the foundation’s own initiative has, in essence, changed the system and balances of Swedish culture, by challenging policy levers, that are seldom visible but strong all the same, that permeate cultural life via the state agencies. The foundation has also forced the field to adopt a more conscious attitude towards the concept of renewal.20
Since 2011, a new form of support called Culture Bridge has been established. This function should cooperate with other financiers to make innovative cultural projects possible. The purpose of the support is partly to promote cultural activities based on new expressions, theories or methods, partly to promote new forms of activity and financing within the area of culture. SEK 25 million per year has been allocated to the function beginning in 2011.

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